If walking’s your thing, La Palma’s got mountains to climb, beaches to stroll, volcanic deserts to hike through and forests to explore. The caldera (caldera means “cauldron”in Spanish), or crater-like space, is apparently just a mountain arch in a crater shape. It’s not actually a crater. The space that the mountains create is about 10 kilometres […]
day drives
Tazacorte, La Palma
When the sun starts to near the horizon in the late afternoon, making your way to the west of La Palma for sunset is definitely a great idea. To watch the sun set from a height, go to Tazacorte town and grab a drink from a local cafe to enjoy outside. The town also has […]
Cubo de la Galga, La Palma
This beautiful hike takes you through a variety of different mountain-valley landscapes. The forest is home to the tall, stately Canary laurel tree (they grow up to 25 meters) which earned the name “the ebony of the Canaries” because of the colour of the wood. The trees were used to make plenty of furniture and as […]
Bosque de Los Tilos, La Palma
If you’re looking for massive ferns, old trees, steep ravines and waterfalls, you’ll find them on the forested northern side of La Palma. Bosque de Los Tilos is a great hike to put at the top of your “Walks to do” list. What I didn’t know was that the path to see the waterfalls is […]
Puerto Naos, La Palma
The simple, magic combination of palm tree silhouettes in the sunset and a gelato cone. Need I say more? Honestly, though, if you’re looking for another good sunset spot, other than Tazacote, Puerto Naos is super. It feels a bit more finished, or fancy, because of the investment that was put into the beachfront area. It […]
Dragon Trees, La Palma
The Canary Island Dragon Trees, Dracaena draco, are native to the islands as well parts of Africa and the Azores. They are strange and beautiful things. The biggest and oldest living “drago” as the locals call them, is about 300 years old and can be found in northwest Tenerife. SEE The dragon trees grow slowly and often stand […]
Santa Cruz, La Palma
Spanish speaking places can be confusing geographically in that there are many different places with the same names. There’s Las Palmas, and then there’s La Palma. There’s Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and then there’s Santa Cruz de la Palma. Just to be clear, the latter is the capital city of the island of […]
Fuencaliente, la Palma
If your Spanish is just about ok, you might guess that caliente the name Fuencaliente alludes to some sort of heat, and you’d be right! There used to be hot springs in this area, along the southern tip of La Palma, the most western of Canary Islands. The springs were destroyed by lava in the 18th […]
Roque de los Muchachos, La Palma
While the highest point of Spain is Mount Teide, the highest point of the island of La Palma is this strange rock formation that looks like three dudes, called Roque de los Muchachos. There’s a parking area there and a few short, beautiful walks to look out points. It’s also part of many a hiking route. […]
Rocky Bay
In good weather, Rocky Bay can get busy. People might bring those little disposable barbecues with them, beach towels decorate the space and small children work away with a spade in the sand while the brave ones hop in the waves with their hands up. When the tide is low, there is more beach to go round […]